Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
Presbyterian Hymnal (pg. 16)
“Thy will be done” is the third of three petitions that address God in the Lord’s Prayer. In this petition we, as supplicants, are asking for God’s will to be done.
Early in our lives on earth we learn through playing with others that it is not a lot of fun to play with those who insist on getting their own way. Especially if you invite a playmate to come to your house, you allow him or her to choose the game or the toys with which they would like to play. Richard, a childhood friend, and I enjoyed playing board games and playing with Legos and Matchbox Cars. We never argued or fought about what to play because we enjoyed them all.
Your guest(s) will not have a good time if you do not give some consideration to his or her likes and dislikes. When we insist on our own way all the time, we run the risk of losing friends. They will want to avoid us or excuse themselves from playing with us.
Often we like to think that if we always got our own way how happy we would be. There have been those occasions when we have learned that what another want us to do has brought us even more happiness than we would have thought.
Heaven will be quite different for us because there God’s will and God’s will alone, will rule. We will be happy to give God total control and will not have to learn the hard way what is best for us. We will not feel cheated because we will not get to do what we think we would like to do. We will be grateful to do what God would have us to do because that will be what is best for us,
Blessed Jesus, we thank You for teaching us to pray “Thy will be done.” Help us always to know that as our Loving Father, God wants only the best for us. In all things help us to recognize the wisdom of praying, “Thy will be done.” In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.